We took a trip to Maine in September 2020. Portland is only a short flight from the Baltimore airport so I definitely loved the fact that we didn’t have a long flight. Once we arrived we retrieved our luggage and went to get our rental car from Enterprise rental car. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn across the street from the Portland Harbor. The hotel was approximately 20-25 minutes from the airport. Upon arrival, we received a warm welcome and were able to go to our room. We had a suite and the room looked dated. It also had a strong odor of marijuana in the room. Housekeeping came up and sprayed but the smell was still strong. The hotel offered us free parking and food vouchers for the inconvenience.

Although the room wasn’t the best, the view of the harbor was absolutely beautiful. Directly across the street were the ferries to take you to Peaks Island. There were plenty of places to eat in the area and it looked like the night life on fire on the weekend. Traveling with a small child can be challenging, especially a child with autism. We opted to get Uber Eats during this trip for all meals except breakfast because it was so convenient.

One thing we like to do when traveling the states is taking a picture near the welcome sign of the state we are visiting. Maine was no different. From Portland, Maine, the closest welcome sign was about an hour away. I like it because its a great photo opportunity to get a picture. We only take pictures on the side of the road when the sign is located in a safe location. If not, we find a rest stop (Visitor Center) that often has welcome signs as well. On this trip, we found a rest stop located in Kittery, Maine for a great photo opt. This rest stop had a replica of Smokey the Bear with a guide to forest fire safety tips. This area was somewhat open allowing kids to burn off some energy if they needed to do it.

Once we got back to Portland, we took the ferry over to Peaks Island. The ferry takes approx. 17 minutes to get to Peaks Island. Cost is $7.70 (adult) and $3.85 (child) for a roundtrip ticket. You can also bring your vehicle on the ferry but we did not. Peaks Island is often referred to as the Coney Island of Maine. People actually live on Peaks Island! We visited in the fall so it was cool outside. During the summer months, many families visit the beach at Peaks Island. Besides the views, there wasn’t much to do but it was a great experience taking the ferry over to see.

Overall, we enjoyed our short trip to Maine. There are more areas that I would love to see. If you haven’t been to Maine I suggest taking a trip to explore.